In His Own Words: Eugene “Gene” Casey Tells His Story

In the winter of 2013 I had back surgery here at the Lawrence General Hospital. Several months after the surgery, I was still feeling pain in my chest that I thought might have been a result of the surgery. I visited my primary care physician, Dr. Michael Gogjian to have this pain checked out. Dr. Gogjian took an x-ray of my chest and, based on the x-ray, it appeared that I had a case of bronchitis but Dr. Gogjian suggested that I also get additional tests, including a CT scan, to confirm that my pain was a result of bronchitis.

I felt nervous but I went ahead and scheduled a CT scan. Shortly after the scan, Dr. Gogjian called me and said, “Gene, there’s something there. We don’t know what it is yet but we are not going to worry about that. We are going to send you to Dr. Reddy at Lawrence General.”

I called my sister, Ann-Marie, and with her help scheduled my first appointment with Dr. Reddy. During my first appointment with Dr. Reddy, I met Lissette and Carmen. They were phenomenal and I was taken aback by the care they provided to me.

Dr. Reddy went over everything with me. She told me not to worry about a thing stating, “ We are going to take care of this right away. But I’m going to keep you busy.” To her word, she kept me busy with different tests, x-rays, PET scan, and blood work in preparation for surgery.

I arrived at Lawrence General for my lung surgery. The nurses who cared for me both before and after my surgery made me feel right at home. The fact that they love what they do was obvious in the way the cared for me on the day of my surgery. They were all very kind and compassionate.

During my surgery, half of my lung was removed. After surgery, Dr. Reddy met with me and explained that I would be seeing her and Dr. Pedro Sanz-Altamira for my follow up treatments. I began seeing Dr. Sanz shortly after my surgery for my four rounds of chemotherapy. I remember during one of our first meetings, Dr. Sanz told me, “We will do our part. You just need to do your part.” I knew that with this team, I was going to beat cancer.

Dr. Reddy and Dr. Sanz set my mind at ease through this whole ordeal. The communication between all my doctors and care providers ensured that nothing fell through the cracks.

For me, having to spend six or more hours a day getting treatment was taxing but, the environment where I received my treatments truly made a difference. The environment at Dana-Farber Community Cancer Center on Marston Street in Lawrence is so serene. I received my treatments while taking in the beautiful views of the Merrimack River.

Going to follow up appointments with Dr. Reddy and Dr. Sanz every three months is a small price to pay for my health. The care I received at Lawrence General Hospital was a “success story-all the way”. In addition to the wonderful care provided by physicians and staff, the support of my family was critical to my recovery.

I’ve been to Lawrence General Hospital many times, and had a lot of surgeries. The people here are “aces.”